Spinal level of myelomeningocele lesion as a contributing factor in posterior fossa volume, intracranial cerebellar volume, and cerebellar ectopia

Abstract

Using a linear equation derived from the Hagen-Poiseuille law that describes pressure in the fourth ventricle as being directly related to the length of the central canal from the obex to the myelomeningocele lesion, the authors were able to explain the directly observed linear relation between posterior fossa volume, intracranial cerebellar volume, and cerebellar descent to the level of the spinal lesion. As this model assumes a uniform radius of the central canal they were able to validate this model when they observed a strengthening in relationships in the no syringomyelia group and statistically insignificant correlations in the groups with syringomyelia. They therefore propose that the spinal level of the lesion is one of the major determinants of posterior fossa volume, intracranial cerebellar volume, and cerebellar ectopia.